


The Nature of Things

by EventHorizon



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Established Relationship, M/M, Omega Verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-08
Updated: 2014-05-08
Packaged: 2018-01-23 23:23:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1583183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EventHorizon/pseuds/EventHorizon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur just can't wait until his 'special time' arrives so he and his Skip can make their baby.  His Skip, however, is not as enthused...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Nature of Things

      “Arthur?  What in god’s name are you doing?”

Martin looked around the sitting room of their new, albeit tiny, house and saw that it was now hosting what appeared to be an elaborate blanket fort, complete with couch-cushion walls, every one of Arthur’s stuffed animals lining the sides, what looked like a large cardboard box filled with biscuits and, yes those were Toblerones, bottles of water, most of Arthur’s crafts supplies and what appeared to be several pairs of pyjamas in both their sizes.  With Arthur curled up happily in the middle of it all.

      “I’m nesting!”

Of course.

      “Love, you know that’s just an expression.  It means you start to lay in supplies, get things ready… not make an actual nest.”

      “Really?  But Skip, making a nest is fun!  And think of how brilliant it will be to play with the baby in a big nest with lots of toys and you can see the telly from here and I’ve got my phone so we can listen to songs and it will be like camping, but inside where it’s warm and dry and we don’t have to have a tinkle behind a tree, which isn’t something I want the baby to have to worry about.  But it’ll have a nappy, so I guess that won’t be a problem for him.  Or her.”

Martin crouched down and sat at the entrance to Arthur’s den.

      “Arthur, you’re probably months away from your first… _special time_ …”

Martin found it very difficult to use the term _heat_ in association with Arthur Shappey.

      “…don’t you think this is a little premature?”

      “Nope.  If I’ve learned one thing as a steward it’s that you’ve got to be prepared.  You never know if a passenger is going to want juice instead of water or need a pencil or cards or chalk.”

      “You keep chalk on board?”

      “One can never be too careful, Skip.  Though it _is_ rather difficult to get out of the carpet.  Especially when I’ve spilled sauce on the drawings.”

      “Arthur… no _passenger_ has ever drawn on GERTI’s carpets, have they?”

      “Well… not as such.  But I had to try it out to make sure it would work, didn’t I?”

      “Oh, I think that was very wise.  But back to your ‘nest.’  We’ve talked about this, Arthur.  I’ve been on suppressants for years and you… well, you’re one of the elite few, aren’t you?”

      “Yes I am!  The doctor said only one in a… well, it was a whole great lot… waits so long to have their body wake up and start unpacking.  And it was all because of you!”

      “We don’t know that, Arthur.  The suppressants…”

      “The doctor said that didn’t keep your smell from coming out entirely and it was just the right smell to make me light up like a holiday display.  Here I was thinking we were both betas, and it turns out you’re a super-secret alpha, which Mum is still upset about by the way because she says that she’s the only alpha in MJN and you’d better not forget it unless you want your alpha parts cooked up and fed to you for Sunday breakfast, and you have magic powers that turned me into your own special omega.  It’s brilliant!  I always knew we were meant to be together, Skip, but that means even Mother Nature knew and she’s not wrong about things like that.  It’s her job and she takes that _very_ seriously.  And helps make babies.  All those lovely sweet animal babies laughing and playing in the forest and little Skip will be right out there with them, toddling about in his nappy and singing songs and taking rides on the baby deer and elephants.  We need a video camera.”

      “I just don’t want you to get your hopes up. Arthur.  The doctor also said that it could take a few h… _special times_ , for everything to go right so you get your baby.”

Arthur frowned, reached out and drew Martin into his nest, wrapping an arm around him so Martin could lean a head on his shoulder.

      “Skip… why do always say it’s _my_ baby and not _our_ baby?  Don’t you want a baby with me?”

      “That’s not it.  I’m just… you don’t know what it’s like, Arthur… the baby-making part, I mean.  It’s not tender and caring or anything like that.  And that’s not… I don’t want to be that way with you.  That’s why I went on suppressants.  Believe me, _once_ was enough and I don’t ever want you to have to see me that way.  It was… horrible. _I_ was horrible and I don’t want to treat _you_ that way.  I mean… we’ve never even… you know… _that way_ before at all and when the time comes I won’t be able _not_ to and I’ll be demanding and rough… brutal, really and it won’t matter that you’ll _want_ that and _ask_ me for it… I just love you too much to ever want it to be like that between us.”

Arthur hugged Martin more tightly and pressed a kiss to the top of his bright ginger hair.

      “What if I told you… I’m rather looking forward to it?”

Martin drew back and looked up into Arthur’s always-honest eyes.

      “What are you talking about?”

      “Well, not that I’m complaining, because I’m not.  Note one tiny bit, but you know how it’s usually me that starts a cuddle?  And I get to be the one who sort of… well, if we were playing Simon Says, I’d be Simon?  And I like that very much, don’t think I don’t.  Really, it’s absolutely brilliant!  But, once in awhile, I wonder what it would be like the other way around.”

      “You do?”

      “Uh huh.  Maybe you don’t like doing that because you had that bad experience or just because you’re Skip and that’s who you are, but I’d be lying if I hadn’t, just sometimes, wished that _you’d_ be Simon.  And this way… well, you’ll get to be Simon, won’t you!  And, I think I might like that.  I know the doctor said afterwards, when all the chemicals were gone and I remembered everything that I might want to talk to someone because I may feel a little upset, for the first time, at least… but I don’t think I will.  I think I’ll be happy and if I’m happy, I know you’ll be happy and little Skip will be happy and we’ll ALL be happy!  In our nest.  Am I making sense?”

For all that people thought Arthur Shappey was scattered, if you just paid attention you found he usually made a _great deal_ of sense.

      “Yes, yes you are.  And, for your information, even though we can’t afford it and I have no idea who’ll babysit when we both have to work since Carolyn said her nappy-days went the way of the dodo, but I _do_ want to have a baby with you, Arthur.  And I’ll make sure to say _our_ baby from now on.”

      “Or babies.”

      “What?”

      “Well, I asked Mum and there quite a number of twins in the family.”

      “Don’t scare me like that, Arthur.”

      “Just think, one for each of us to hold.  That would be brilliant!”

And, Martin had to admit, it wasn’t as distressing a thought as he might have expected.  Must be his alpha hormones finally starting to flow.

      “Well, let’s just see how it goes.  I’m sure Mother Nature will make sure we get the proper number of babies to handle right now.  Now, can we dismantle your castle and get dinner started?”

      “I suppose.  But, I drew out the plan so I can build it again when I need it.”

And he had.  In bright colors on a large piece of paper labeled ‘The Crieff-Shappey Family Nest.’

      “That’s that preparation thing you were talking about, isn’t it?”

      “Yes!  And it’s going to come in handy, when little Skip arrives.  So, how about Chicken Flamingo for dinner?”

      “I think you mean Chicken _Flamenco_.”

      “No, I don’t think so.  I’ve never heard of a flamenco , but I really doubt it could ever be as pink as a flamingo.”

      “Oh… well…. Chicken Flamingo it is.”


End file.
